Why dies drivers handbook say riding a bike with traffic is safer and more recommended than a sidewalk?

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So there you are getting your breakfast of coffee and donuts to go. You step out of the shop with your load and onto the pavement, right into the path of a cyclist who is also on the pavement (Side walk for Americans). Smack. Your in hospital.

There was a recent case where a cyclist hit a pedestrian. He was riding a track bike (Single speed, no gears and no brakes). He was only doing 20 and killed the pedestrian.

I have had 40 mph out of my bike when I polish the paint work.

But here is the thing. Your legal designation is a carriage. It has been since about 1850. The same designation given to cars. You are a road vehicle. You can do road speeds and you are very dangerous when you mix with pedestrians who have not got a clue about observations or caution.

When you re riding a bicycle, the biggest danger to you is automobile traffic. Your best defense is to be predictable and visible. When you re on a sidewalk you re neither. You re less visible because you re not in the line-of-sight for drivers, and you re not predictable because there are no rules on the sidewalk - pedestrians have no rules-of-the-sidewalk. It is better to be out in the traffic lane, even if it is infuriating drivers because you re in their way. At least they see you. If you ride on sidewalks, be especially careful at intersections, because drivers who are turning won t see you until you re on their hood.

I have no idea about what it is like to ride a bicycle where you live. I live in a dense urban area where the streets are narrow, where cars are parked on both sides of those narrow one way streets. There are numerous driveways where cars can be exiting onto the street, often backing up. Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk where I live is stupid unless you are not moving any faster than a pedestrian. Unless you plan on riding a bicycle at about the same speed as someone on foot, the handbook that you are looking at is correct. Ask yourself, if you want to cycle at the speed of pedestrians, or not. If you wish to move faster than someone on foot, get out onto the street, it will be safer.

they are probably wrong in the book. books often are (like the bible) ride where you want and learn to yell angrily at pedestrians and motorist as you pass them . You will be a true cyclist soon.

Anonymous · 7 months ago

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· just now

Bicycles are vehicles. They are traffic. On those roads divided into carriageways and footways, bicycles along with herded animals, ridden animals, animal-drawn carts, and the recently arrived motor vehicles go in the carriageway. Sidewalks or footways are for pedestrians only.

Doing so is safer for all concerned. Pedestrians on footways typically do not keep a careful lookout for more than a few yards away from themselves and do not usually look behind them before changing direction or stopping suddenly. They are entitled to do so. For a cyclist, mingling with people who act like that is a constant menace as hazards appear from all directions, while the movements of other carriageway users is generally much more predictable.

Because it is.
SideWALKs are designed for WALKING.
Bicycles generally move considerably faster than walking speed, and (usually) aren't expected to be on sidewalks. They pose a risk for pedestrians, and whenever there's an entry/exit across a sidewalk, motorists don't expect anything coming at them at bicycle speeds from that direction.
Bicycles are legally considered vehicles and - if used right - quite safe to use on the roads.

Sidewalk riding is GENERALLY illegal. But laws aren't uniform. Some places it's allowed. Even recommended or mandatory. Checcking out what goes in your location is a sensible move.